This invention relates to so called a musical accompaniment playing apparatus or "KARAOKE" apparatus, and more particularly to a musical accompaniment playing apparatus using a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).
Hitherto, as the musical accompaniment playing apparatus, there are known the playing apparatus in the form of a laser video disk and the playing apparatus in the form of a compact disk.
The apparatus for reproducing musical accompaniment information in the form of a laser video disk (LVD) comprises a LVD automatic changer for accommodating therein a plurality of laser video disks serving as the musical accompaniment information recording medium and reproducing them, a commander for controlling the LVD automatic changer to allow it to select a desired laser video disk in the LVD automatic changer by a request inputted from a control unit, an amplifier and a speaker for outputting a reproduced audio signal as a sound, an image display unit for displaying a reproduced image signal as an image, and a microphone for changing a voice sung to an audio signal to output it to the amplifier. The amplifier mixes the audio signal from the LVD automatic changer and the audio signal of the voice sung from the microphone to output a mixed signal to the speaker.
On the other hand, the apparatus for reproducing musical accompaniment information in the form of a compact disk (CD) comprises a CD automatic changer for accommodating therein a plurality of CDs and reproducing them, a commander for controlling the CD automatic changer to allow it to select a desired CD in the CD automatic changer by a request inputted from a control unit, an amplifier and a speaker for outputting a reproduced audio signal as a sound, a graphic decoder for converting graphic data reproduced from subcode data in the CD to an image signal, a graphic display unit for displaying the image signal as an image, and a microphone for changing a voice sung to an audio signal to output it to the amplifier. The amplifier mixes the audio signal from the CD automatic changer and the audio signal of the voice sung from the microphone to output a mixed signal to the speaker.
By constituting the musical accompaniment playing apparatus in this way, a singer can sing a song with a musical accompaniment, and can enjoy, at the same time, a corresponding image.
In musical accompaniment playing apparatus in these forms, in the case where the musical interval of a voice of a singer from the microphone deviates from the musical interval of a musical signal from the musical accompaniment player, an approach was employed to apply echo to a voice signal from the microphone to output it, or to allow the musical interval (key) of the entirety of a music to follow in correspondence with the musical interval of a voice from the microphone.
However, in the case of a method of applying echo, this method merely allows a voice to be easy to be heard, but has no effect to correct deviation of the musical interval. Further, there was the problem that when the musical interval of the entirety of a music is varied in correspondence with the musical interval (key) of a voice of a singer, the key of the music frequently changes, so the singer becomes rather difficult to sing a song, and a listener is disagreeable to hear that song in appreciation thereof.